Not applicable.
Not Applicable.
The present invention relates generally to compressed gas powered guns and, more particularly, to compressed gas powered guns that are capable of firing projectiles with a high degree of accuracy.
Law enforcement and military personnel become involved in a broad range of situations on a daily basis from the ordinary and the mundane to the life threatening. In many instances, however, including the training of personnel, riot control, and airline security or other such special circumstances, the use of a lethal weapon, which, by definition, is capable of inflicting deadly force, is not always an appropriate response in these situations. Therefore, having a means to provide a less-lethal response for a wide range of activities is desirable and is sought after by law enforcement and military personnel.
Several less-lethal devices are known in the prior art including bb guns, which are designed to propel small spherically shaped metallic projectiles, and paint ball guns, which are designed to propel small spherically shaped frangible projectiles. Generally, both of these guns use compressed gas and are considered as children""s toys, but adults are known to use both of these weapons for various activities including target shooting and simulated war games as well. Other well known examples of weapons that are generally considered as being less-lethal include stun guns, tear gas launchers, and even fire hoses.
These weapons, however, suffer from various flaws including either the need for direct contact with the intended target, which, in many instances, can lead to the law enforcement personnel becoming involved in an unnecessarily dangerous confrontation, or the need for the target to be within relatively close range due to inherent ballistic inaccuracies, which, in many instances, can cause innocent bystanders to become accidentally injured. Another flaw with these weapons is that they lack the flexibility to be able to offer a lethal response when necessary.
Therefore, a need remains for a less-lethal device that has a significant range, is accurate over that range, and is designed to be an integral part of a system that is also capable of providing lethal force when necessary.
According to its major aspects and briefly recited, the present invention is a compressed gas powered less-lethal launcher and launcher system intended for use by law enforcement or military personnel that is capable of firing less-lethal projectiles during conflict situations not requiring the use of deadly force. More specifically, the compressed gas powered less-lethal launcher and launcher system, in one preferred embodiment, is comprised of six major components: a receiver; a receiver housing; a barrel; a compressed gas canister (or cylinder) that is detachably mounted to the receiver housing, which is used for storing compressed gas; a stock that can be detachably mounted to the receiver and/or receiver housing; and a magazine for holding a plurality of projectiles.
A feature of the present invention is that it is capable of launching frangible projectiles through the use of compressed gas, which allows the invention to provide a less-lethal response through a variety of marking and/or debilitating agents.
Another feature of the present invention is that it can accurately launch a projectile over a significant range, which provides the advantage of allowing the present invention to be effectively used from a safe distance.
Still another feature of the present invention is its ergonomic design, which includes such features as: being lightweight; having a conveniently mounted compressed gas cylinder, which presents an improved profile, and which allows the trigger to be conveniently and efficiently positioned; having two hand grips, and having an easy-to-use safety mechanism.
It is a further feature of the present invention to be mechanically and operationally simple to use, yet be highly durable and reliable.
An additional feature is that besides the present invention receiver and receiver housing being mounted onto the present invention stock, the present invention can also be mounted onto a rifle such as a standard military rifle, including, but not limited to, an M-4 or an M-16, which provides the advantage of having both a less-lethal and a lethal option conveniently available to the user.
Still other features of the present invention include its novel projectile magazine, projectile magazine attaching means, and optional loading system, which provides the benefits of ease-of-use and speed-of-loading the magazine and, therefore, the less-lethal launcher.
Other features and their advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a careful reading of the Detailed Description of the Invention, accompanied by the drawings.